From January 26-27 2022, the Border Management Programme in Central Asia held a national workshop in Dushanbe for the heads and experts of K-9 centers of Tajikistan.

The workshop was aimed to train K-9 units in detecting different types of smuggled goods, as well as to demonstrate European Union good practices focusing on the detection of arms, explosives, ammunition, drugs, precursors and currency during their deployment.  

During the two days, experts from the Dog Handlers’ Centre of College of the State Border Guard of the Republic of Latvian, and the Dog Handling Activity Division of the Border Control Organization Board of the State Border Guard Service, under the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania, trained participants in aspects of organisation and conducting the system of service in the K-9 Centre of the Border Troops; and organization of the educational process of training dog handlers, in cooperation with other departments and law enforcement agencies of Tajikistan.

Upon completion of the workshop, participants will develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) covering the rules and procedures for the deployment of canine teams, in the context of fighting cross-border crime, with a specific focus on the detection of prohibited items and substances.